djpretzel

Finally, a Comix Zone remix. That game's soundtrack is secretly great. I'm happy to see it get some love.

Wow, a Comix Zone remix by Mazedude? Had to check it out immediately! Really fun C64 vibes. Lots of intricate lead work. 

@JohnStacy We had a strict band director in high school, but you could ALWAYS, always, always tell that he cared about the music, about the band, about what he was doing, and about what we were all doing. For this role especially, I think, any scent of apathy is absolutely toxic.
He'd occasionally provide some background on a given piece, or its composer, but I wish he'd done a little bit more of that, actually... not sure if most students would be interested in that, but I was.

@dfcentre Perhaps I can help you:
We don't really require passwords - user accounts allow participation on the forums, control of artist profile options, and will eventually be required for submissions, but simply browsing the site and downloading mixes can be done without an account. We DO have an SSL certificate, and we HAVE enabled the option in our forum software so that when you log on, it's via SSL. It redirects back out of SSL after the login has occurred, but the credentials are sent encrypted. See attached screenshot; you can also see this via logging out and back in - the password is posted via HTTPS.  

OK, guys should obviously be aware we had two more albums since my last reply. One of them is on me sorta: while reviewing our trailer for Sonic 25, I realized we were fast approaching the end of the anniversary, so we had to move with haste on that one. The next one came virtually out of nowhere, at least on my end; I was first aware of it maybe 3 weeks ago, and a trailer was essential there as well (sigh, more instant deadline). This weekend, I'm contacting everyone on VROOM for Content Policy and to see about any possible final development. There's another album incoming, but I'm gonna try to sked this one next. We'll see how it goes.

@JohnStacy We had a strict band director in high school, but you could ALWAYS, always, always tell that he cared about the music, about the band, about what he was doing, and about what we were all doing. For this role especially, I think, any scent of apathy is absolutely toxic.
He'd occasionally provide some background on a given piece, or its composer, but I wish he'd done a little bit more of that, actually... not sure if most students would be interested in that, but I was.

For some reason I've been thinking of this remix recently, as it was one of those very early remixes that inspired me in my early days.  To my surprise (and after thinking about it, not that suprising) this remix is by the amazing Danny B., whom I didn't remember being one of the authors of this one.
Simple remix but this is all about those buildups and breakdowns such as around 1:34.  Even 15 years later and after several "bar raising" in the judges panel, this would be a borderline vote, which speaks volumes about how damn talented Danny B. is.
TLDR: BUMP

Glad you liked it and thanks for supporting the Cinematica albums; in fact I posted this piece on Kickstarter publicly several months ago so it was indeed heard there first, however I gave permission for this track to be used for this album so they could fill in the slot for the main theme since I was just too busy to make something exclusive for it and had already completed this overworld medley piece. So things worked out in the end, and for those who do like the music and aren't familiar with my own Zelda Cinematica album, perhaps they'll be interested in that as well when it is released in the next month or two.

I actually was one of the people to back both Chrono Cinematica and Zelda Cinematica. Surprised that Sam posted this publicly as (from what I recall) it was a backer/supporter only track. Though i personally don't mind, Sam Dillard does amazing work and I glad that others who might not have been able to back his projects can listen to his work.

I am a band director at a small town somewhere in Texas (there are about 30 kids in band there).
The title sums it up pretty well.  If you were in band in middle/high school, etc, what do you wish your director would have done differently?  Yelled less, been more strict, played more, anything. 
I'm just curious, and figured this would be a good thought experiment.  If you have a story you connect with your thought, feel free to share.

OC ReMix Presents Mirror Image: A Link to the Past ReMixed!

August 7, 2017
Contact: press@ocremix.org

FAIRFAX, VA... Celebrating the 25th anniversary year of A Link to the Past's release in the U.S., OverClocked ReMix today released its 63rd free community arrangement album, Mirror Image: A Link to the Past ReMixed. Featuring 18 tracks from 18 artists, Mirror Image pays tribute to Nintendo's 16-bit masterpiece The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, and is co-directed by OC ReMix veterans William "WillRock" Harby & Emery "DaMonz" Monzerol. The album is available for free download at http://mirrorimage.ocremix.org.

Mirror Image pulls together a talented roster of musicians honoring this legendary SNES score in a variety of styles, including EDM, orchestral, jazz, prog rock, and more. Mirror Image was made by fans, for fans, and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Nintendo; all games, characters, images, and original compositions are copyright their respective owners.

"The music of the Legend of Zelda games has always been an integral part of the game experience, even being able to play musical instruments in the games themselves." explained directors Harby and Monzerol. Acknowledging both the game and the soundtrack's enduring popularity, the directors felt an extra level of appreciation was warranted. "We felt that A Link to the Past deserved more attention than it already got in the game music community, since many of composer Koji Kondo's greatest and most iconic themes originated from this game," Harby and Monzerol elaborated.

The album's contrasting artwork -- illustrating the Light World and Dark World concepts introduced by A Link to the Past -- was designed by Canadian artist Annie Doyon.

Mirror Image marks OC ReMix's third Legend of Zelda series album, following 2010's Threshold of a Dream honoring Link's Awakening, and 2011's 25YEARLEGEND commemorating the franchise's 25th anniversary. The album is also Emery Monzerol's second directorial effort, following Super Mario RPG: Window to the Stars earlier this year.

"We set out to honour the legacy of the soundtrack while also staying true to the awesome diversity that defines the remixing community," affirmed co-directors Harby and Monzerol. "We hope you enjoy it!"

About OverClocked ReMix
 
Founded in 1999, OverClocked ReMix is an organization dedicated to the appreciation and promotion of video game music as an art form. Its primary focus is ocremix.org, a website featuring thousands of free fan arrangements, information on game music and composers, resources for aspiring artists, and a thriving community of video game music fans.
 
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Preview it: http://youtu.be/l-DGg1_vJ2w Download it: http://mirrorimage.ocremix.org Torrent: http://bt.ocremix.org/torrents/Mirror_Image_-_A_Link_to_the_Past_ReMixed.torrent Comments/Reviews: http://ocremix.org/community/topic/46136/  
 

Now this is a serendipitous treat - never expected Star Salzman to come back.   And top notch music as always!

+1 on a great comeback from a great remixer

I'm getting a lot of They Might Be Giants vibes from the lyrics, though that's partially the nature of Katamari as well. The surrealism is real!

Whooooooooooooooooooooa! Absolutely insane comeback. This song is the new definition of awesomeness. Yeah, that's how good it is. Don't even hesitate, download it ASAP!
P.S. That title lol

@dfcentre Perhaps I can help you:
We don't really require passwords - user accounts allow participation on the forums, control of artist profile options, and will eventually be required for submissions, but simply browsing the site and downloading mixes can be done without an account. We DO have an SSL certificate, and we HAVE enabled the option in our forum software so that when you log on, it's via SSL. It redirects back out of SSL after the login has occurred, but the credentials are sent encrypted. See attached screenshot; you can also see this via logging out and back in - the password is posted via HTTPS.  

@dfcentre Perhaps I can help you:
We don't really require passwords - user accounts allow participation on the forums, control of artist profile options, and will eventually be required for submissions, but simply browsing the site and downloading mixes can be done without an account. We DO have an SSL certificate, and we HAVE enabled the option in our forum software so that when you log on, it's via SSL. It redirects back out of SSL after the login has occurred, but the credentials are sent encrypted. See attached screenshot; you can also see this via logging out and back in - the password is posted via HTTPS.  

@dfcentre Perhaps I can help you:
We don't really require passwords - user accounts allow participation on the forums, control of artist profile options, and will eventually be required for submissions, but simply browsing the site and downloading mixes can be done without an account. We DO have an SSL certificate, and we HAVE enabled the option in our forum software so that when you log on, it's via SSL. It redirects back out of SSL after the login has occurred, but the credentials are sent encrypted. See attached screenshot; you can also see this via logging out and back in - the password is posted via HTTPS.  

@dfcentre Perhaps I can help you:
We don't really require passwords - user accounts allow participation on the forums, control of artist profile options, and will eventually be required for submissions, but simply browsing the site and downloading mixes can be done without an account. We DO have an SSL certificate, and we HAVE enabled the option in our forum software so that when you log on, it's via SSL. It redirects back out of SSL after the login has occurred, but the credentials are sent encrypted. See attached screenshot; you can also see this via logging out and back in - the password is posted via HTTPS.  

So about a month for the final deadline, and we're making good progress so far! The artwork for the front cover is now finished, and if you look at the opening post, you can already see a sneak preview
Other than that, @evktalo claimed "Together Always" and I myself claimed "Whisper and Mantra" and "Flight into the Unknown". We also saw some check-ins from people already, with @HeavyViper, @Blake Inc., @Thirdkoopa, @Starphoenix, @Rexy and @djpretzel showing some very promising updates of their tracks. Really looking forward to the final versions; what we've heard so far is great stuff and I can't wait to get the album out
Good luck with the last stretch, and keep up the good work guys!

That would be too bad, but we actually did what you're talking about. I did the torrent updates in 2012 and 2014, and we upgraded the encodings/bitrates of more than 500 ReMixes. Some of the stuff you linked to were artists creating new or expanded versions of their tracks, which we wouldn't replace the posted ReMixes with, but perhaps djp would be open to hosting alternate versions in a non-featured way. It's never a bad time to reach out to artists again, but I'll clarify that I already did do this work before from 2009-2014, through a mass email to all ReMixers, and a forum thread where some fans also provided better encodings that they'd saved.

@Liontamer Has a bunch, and we HAVE done outreach to try and get WAV/FLAC from which to re-encode.
In addition, when we made the big 2014 torrent update, we upgraded quite a few: http://ocremix.org/info/Torrent_Update_v20141015#Files_with_Increased_Bitrate.2FEncoding_.2851.29
Our plan is to eventually host FLACs, but they may be for registered users only (there'd still be a torrent that was open) & our Patreon backers will get advance access since they're making it possible.
First things first, we need to update the site for better mobile/responsive experience, but this IS on the roadmap, for featured mixes!

The version now hosted IS the version you're referring to, which was 192kbps.

And here... we... GO!

With Dyne having officially stepped down from this project, we're starting a new chapter in this long-running album series' life. No, it's not going all death polka or grunge barbershop quartet, it's simply been put under my watchful eye. And what that watchful eye saw was that we kept having one of two things happen. Either 1) it was started two months before the deadline and people had to cram work in for it, or 2) they had so much time that they kind of forgot about it. So, we're trying a middle ground this year. And what better middle ground than July, the month that retailers love to have a second Christmas in? Yes, while 2 months was awfully short notice and a full year made it slip peoples' minds, I figure a good five months might be about the right amount of time. Guess we'll see, huh?

This project is open to any and all OCR members, regardless of whether you're a posted remixer or not. And now, a few details...

When's The Project Deadline?- December 20th, 2017 at 11:59 P.M. EST.

This is now a REALLY hard, non-negotiable deadline, since it's very close to Christmas. We've had lots of last-minute entries and updates over the years and, to be perfectly honest, it shouldn't be that way. With months of time, having to hold off as long as possible for people made things pretty hectic for myself and Dyne in the past, between updating the artwork and getting everything uploaded. Treating this project like a college paper that doesn't get worked on until the last minute got annoying rather quickly when it kept adding up to lots of hurrying year after year. As such, you have until one minute before midnight EST on December 20th to get me the final WAV or MP3 of your song. After that, you're shit outta luck until next year. I need time to do everything, including possibly make a little website to host this one if Dyne isn't online for one reason or another. So this deadline's set in stone... PERIOD.

What Information Does The Coop Need?- When you send me your final versions, I'll need what name you want to use (real or remixer handle), the name of your remix and the name of the song you're remixing (in case someone asks what this or that remix is from). Plus, if you have a website you'd like to pimp, supply that as well and I can add it to the MP3 tags.

What Can Be Remixed?- Any song, really. Traditional Christmas carols, video game music, published music by a signed artist, music from TV/cartoons/anime... whatever gets your heart racing and into that Christmas spirit. This isn't an official OCR album, so you can draw from more sources than just VGM. Plus, you can take a non-Christmas tune, like the Main Theme from Space Harrier, Stage 6 Mission 2 from Metal Head, or I Defend STM from Truxton II, and turn it into a Christmasy one. So know that it's not limited only to songs that are Christmas-like to begin with. All that said, do keep in mind that if you want to submit your song to OCR later, you'll need to keep this site's guidelines in the back of your mind. But for this album, you can take it in just about any direction you want and get as crazy as you'd like (but please, no "Silver Bells" done in farts or something).

How Long Can My Song Be?- As long as you want it to be. There are no restrictions on this, so whether it's 1:30, or 9:51 with a five minute guitar solo ala Metallica, it's all good. But again, if you want to submit your song to OCR later, keep their guidelines in mind.

What Genres Can I Remix In?- Again, the door's wide open here. Rap, Metal, Pop, Piano-solo, Orchestral, Jazz, 8/16-bit, Barber Shop Quartet, A capella... it's up to you where you want to take it.

What Format Should I Submit My Song In?- WAV and/or an MP3 of at least 192KB/s quality. I'll be tagging the MP3s and making MP3s from any submitted wavs, so you don't have to worry about that. But, if you'd like your website to be in the MP3 comments section, be sure to give it to me when you submit your song.

How About A Little Music To Get Us In The Mood?- To help everyone along, here's a YouTube list of Christmasy tunes made by Ocre a number of years ago... http://ocremix.org/f...72&postcount=19

But remember, not all famous Christmas tunes are upbeat and cheerful. There are some that are more somber or haunting in tone, so you have more moods to play with than happy happy joy joy.

What's The Website's Address Again?- It's got a new home at... http://williammichael.info/aocc/ This album will still be download there as well, as Dyne will continue to host the albums on his site.

How Do We Contact This The Coop Person?- If you've got questions, comments, concerns, or your track is done and ready to be sent to me, you can PM me here on OCR, or send me an E-mail at thecoopscorner@gmail.com.

So yeah, there we go. You've got over five months to get something done for the lovely people of OverClocked Remix and the millions of listeners around the world who've become followers of our project.

Good luck, have fun and make everyone some Nice Work™!

Artists involved thus far...

The Coop (director, cover artist and remixer)
JohnStacy (remixer)
wildfire (remixer)
Ronald Poe (remixer)
HoboKa (remixer)
Ridiculously Garrett (remixer)
Skull (remixer)
PlanarianHugger (remixer)
TheChargingRhino (remixer)
Yannic Geerts (remixer)
Earth Kid (remixer)
CelestialSonata (remixer)

I loooooove this
 

The woodwind at 1:25 is a nice touch and the choir is great in the last minute. The remix also gives the theme a Secret of Mana vibe.